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Title: Platoon (1986)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Tom Berenger | ... | Sgt. Barnes | |
| Keith David | ... | King | |
| Willem Dafoe | ... | Sgt. Elias | |
| Forest Whitaker | ... | Big Harold | |
| Francesco Quinn | ... | Rhah | |
| Kevin Dillon | ... | Bunny | |
| John C. McGinley | ... | Sgt. O'Neill | |
| Reggie Johnson | ... | Junior | |
| Mark Moses | ... | Lt. Wolfe | |
| Corey Glover | ... | Francis | |
| Johnny Depp | ... | Lerner | |
| Chris Pedersen | ... | Crawford | |
| Bob Orwig | ... | Gardner | |
 |
Corkey Ford | ... | Manny |
| David Neidorf | ... | Tex | |
Chris Taylor is a young, naive American who gives up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. Upon arrival, he quickly discovers that his presence is quite nonessential, and is considered insignificant to the other soldiers, as he has not fought for as long as the rest of them and felt the effects of combat. Chris has two non-commissioned officers, the ill-tempered and indestructible Staff Sergeant Robert Barnes and the more pleasant and cooperative Sergeant Elias Grodin. A line is drawn between the two NCOs and a number of men in the platoon when an illegal killing occurs during a village raid. As the war continues, Chris himself draws towards psychological meltdown. And as he struggles for survival, he soon realizes he is fighting two battles, the conflict with the enemy and the conflict between the men within his platoon. Written by Jeremy Thomson
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At the height of the Vietnam War, America's teens are drafted into the war effort to find themselves in the middle of hell. One such young man is Chris Taylor. He is placed in a squadron where two sergeants have different approaches to the war Elias is more about surviving without being brutal or cruel, whereas Barnes is crueller, more ruthless and more violent. During the course of his term, Taylor's very soul is torn between the two men as he deals with what he must do.
The first film in Oliver Stone's unofficial trilogy is arguably the best of the three. The basic story not only shows us what the war was like for those serving but also how the different personalities come out of those involved in it. As we follow Taylor we see him change as he is influenced by those around him and by his situation. It makes for an uncomfortable film but one that's worth watching. It's certainly a better war movie than things like Wild Geese or The Dirty Dozen, simply because it's a little more real to what happens than those ones.
Charlie Sheen has never been better than when he's acting for Stone. Here he gives one of his best ever performances as the innocent who is changed. Willem Dafoe is a great actor and here is no different he also gives us one of the film's most enduring images so I'm a little biased. Berenger is another one for whom it's hard to think of a higher point reached than when he did this film. He is brutal and ruthless but he makes us support him in a strange way. The support cast are all good and contains a few famous faces (John C McGinley, Whitaker, Depp) however this is really a three man show.
Overall this is brutal and violent with no happy ending. At the end of the day isn't that what a war film should be?